KTVX Brings Three Stations Together With Utah Scientific

January 12, 2007

KTVX-TV, an ABC affiliate located in Salt Lake City, has installed digital routing and control products from Utah Scientific for its move to combine three separate broadcast channels into a single system. The new operation includes KTVX plus KUCW, a CW affiliate that the station acquired earlier this year, and The HiveTV, an ABC digital multicast channel with local programming. The new installation uses two UTAH-400 routers that can be loaded up to 144x144 and support all digital formats including 1080p. Currently, one router is configured as 80x64 SD video with some internal analog video conversion included, and the second is configured as 80x64 AES and includes some internal analog audio conversion. The Utah SC-400 router control system is also included in the configuration.

KTVX required a new routing system that would allow the facility to continue using a legacy Grass Valley 7000 Series router; and Utah Scientific met that requirement with the SC-400 control system, which ties the old and new systems together providing total control of both, while even allowing the facility to continue using an existing Grass Valley control panel. Tight integration with NVerzion automation was another factor in the selection of the new Utah Scientific equipment. The new system went live in August 2006.

"One of the nice things about working with Utah Scientific was that they were able to meet our accelerated timeline," said KTVX/KUCW Director of Engineering David Bird. "They helped us arrange an efficient setup that ensured there was no disruption of the ABC or CW operations during the transition."

Bird is also pleased with the flexibility of the UTAH-400, which will allow the station to easily expand and evolve in the future. While many manufacturers have designed systems that can only be upgraded using 32x32 expansion cards, the UTAH-400 features a more flexible 8x8 source design.
This gives KTVX more control as they add HD sources and will also allow them to shift easily between SD and HD sources as their mix changes.